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When Mercedes announced that she was getting married, her and Byleth’s students immediately bombarded her with questions.
“Ms. Mercie, what’s your wedding dress going to be like!?”
“Who are you marrying!?”
“Can I ask Momma if we can go to the Wedding!?”
Mercedes, who Byleth swore had the patience of a saint, happily answered whichever questions she could.
Not to say that Byleth disliked it when the kids tried to get to know them. She loved these kids and it really was kind of cute how excited they got learning about her family and the traveling she’s done.
...Then one day…
“Miss. Byleth?”
Byleth smiled as she looked down to see Ophelia, one of the younger kids in the program.
“Yes Ophelia?” Byleth asked as she kneeled down to Ophelia’s level
“...Are you getting married too?”
...What?
“No! I mean… maybe someday but why do you think I’m getting married?”
“Because of that nice man who always waits for you and Ms. Mercie to be all done.”
“...So the kids are talking about you...”
Claude nearly choked on his tea.
“My students? Last I checked, you don’t call me “Teach” because it’s cute.”
“Right, right though I disagree on that last part. So what have the little ones been saying about me, Teach? All good things I hope.” Claude said before taking another sip of tea
“...You could say that. One of them asked if we were getting married.”
Claude’s eyes widened. He swallowed his drink, placed the cup back on the table, took a deep breath, and grinned.
“Heh… kids sure do have wild imaginations huh?”
Byleth looked thoughtful, “Yeah… that’s kind of what I was thinking at first. Figured they saw Mercedes and her fiancé and thought it was the same thing but… now that I’m really thinking about it... Claude, what are we?”
The joking grin dropped.
“...What do you think we are? Or… I guess the better question is… what do you want us to be?”
“I...”
Byleth found herself unsure…
She never really made a big deal out of romance, she was happy with where she was in life.
Meeting Claude… wasn’t like any of those cliche stories would describe it. It didn’t feel like a missing piece was filled or the world stopped or any of that. He was just a guy that one of her students crashed into.
“Byleth?”
“I don’t know… what about you?”
Claude looked away and Byleth swore she could see his cheeks looking warmer.
“I don’t want to pressure you...”
“So by that logic, am I pressuring you by answering?”
Claude looked back at her and sighed, “You really want to know?”
Byleth nodded.
“...When we first met… I thought you were cute. Dimitri and Edelgard made fun of me for “falling in love at first sight” and I really really wanted to see you again and actually get to know you. But I just… I was worried about coming off as some kind of creep. So I wanted to take things slow and try to build something up rather than going straight to chocolates and roses, heh.”
Claude, now fully embarrassed, ran his fingers through his hair.
“I admit… I don’t really like opening up like this. It feels embarrassing. I never really saw myself as a romantic but there was just something about you… That said, it’s fine if you just want to stay friends. The last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable with me.”
Byleth stared at Claude for some unknown amount of time. But eventually she took one of her hands and placed it on Claude’s free one.
“Teach?”
“I really do like spending time with you, you know… and I’m willing to give this a shot if you are.”
“So...”
“Let’s just say “dating” rather than outright boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Okay… yeah… I’d like that.”
The two smiled at each other and to Claude’s surprise, Byleth leaned closer and closer to him until she was able to peck him on the corner of his lips.
“Are you Mr. Claude?”
“Hm?”
Claude looked over and saw a little girl that he swore had stars in her eyes.
“Are you? Mr. Claude?”
“Um? Yes?”
“Good, this is for you!”
The girl handed him a small folded piece of paper, before he could ask her about it, a man he assumed was her father stepped out of the room and cleared his throat.
“Mitama? What did we say about talking about strangers?”
“Unknown evil lurks/Taking away pretty girls/Stay far far away.”
“Close enough, now let’s head home, you’ve got lots of chores to finish up.”
The girl, Mitama, let out a loud sigh, “Can’t escape homework/Can’t escape sweeping the house/Father is evil.”
Claude couldn’t help but count each syllable, huh, perfect haikus. That girl’s pretty talented. So wait, was it a poem she gave him? He unfolded the paper and despite the messy handwriting, was able to read it.
A happy teacher
A kind man always waiting
Hearing wedding bells
At the bottom of the paper was a crayon drawing of who Claude assumes is supposed to be him and Byleth with hearts over their heads with a very loopy looking signature from a kid named Shigure.
“...What’s with these kids and weddings?”
“They’re young and they’ve just got their parents and a few others for reference on romance so...”
Claude nearly jumped out of his seat and laughed when he finally noticed Byleth looking over him.
“Enjoyed the poem? I got a copy too.”
“...You wouldn’t have happened to say something to these kids would you?”
“Heh, heh, no I didn’t say anything. They’re still going by what they’ve always thought about us. Anyway, Mercedes told me that she can finish up by herself so you and I can go ahead out.”
Claude smiled as he refolded the paper and put it in his jacket pocket. He stood up and offered his arm to Byleth, who linked it with her arm.
“So I was thinking we could go to my usual hangout spot. Maybe introduce you to Dimitri and Edelgard if they’re there.”
“Ohhh, introducing me to your friends? Don’t you think we’re going a little too fast?” Byleth jokingly asked
“Hey, your students are already planning our wedding, I think we can reasonably speed things up.”